The present invention relates to surgical attachments for positioning a patient for surgical procedures and particularly to a shoulder surgery attachment for a surgical table.
Surgical procedures on the shoulders of patients are often performed with the patients in the so called beach-chair position. In the beach-chair position, a patient is positioned in a sitting position during surgery, although the patient may be anesthetized in a supine position.
There are presently several devices that are used for positioning patients in the beach-chair position, such as dedicated surgical tables that are factory-made with the required mechanisms, and such as accessories for regular tables that adapt them for positioning patients in the beach-chair position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,859 to Schaefer discloses a shoulder arthroscopy attachment for use with a surgical table wherein the attachment may be attached to a seat section of the table in place of an articulated leg section. U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,876 to Haigh et al. discloses a device for adapting a surgical operating table so that the upper torso of a patient can be raised in order to place the patient in a seated position. The device shown in the ""876 patent is positioned on a horizontal surface and is pivotal with respect to the horizontal surface. Both the ""859 and ""876 patents are hereby incorporated herein by reference to establish the background for the present application.
An embodiment illustrated herein provides a shoulder surgery attachment that can be coupled to an articulated leg section of a surgical table. The attachment couples to the accessory rails of the table so that the mechanism used to move the articulated leg section of the table is used to move the shoulder surgery attachment into desired positions.
The illustrative embodiment provides a shoulder surgery attachment comprising a rail clamp providing a first connector at each side of the articulated leg section. A chair back assembly is included having a cooperating second connector releasably attachable to each corresponding first connector. The chair back assembly is selectively adjustable with the leg section. To position the attachment, a gage may be provided to space the rail clamps relative to the pivot axis of the leg section.
In the illustrative embodiment, the shoulder surgery attachment includes a backboard having a base positioned on one end thereof. First and second mounting blades are attached to the base. A pair of rail clamps are provided, each including an opening configured to receive one of the mounting blades. One illustrative base is provided for coupling the shoulder surgery attachment to surgical tables of different widths, the base including an adjustable or extending member carrying one of the blades.
In an illustrative embodiment, the shoulder surgery attachment may provide a backboard having a broad lower portion for attachment to the base, and a narrow upper portion for support of a patient""s back. The upper portion is configured not to obstruct the positioning of the patient""s arm rearward of a plane defined by the patient""s back.
In an illustrative embodiment, the first and second mounting blades each include a support portion and an angularly-spaced blade portion. Each support portion is attached to either the base or the extending member. Each angularly-spaced blade portion is received in the opening of its associated rail clamp. The angularly-spaced blades may be angled relative to the backboard to provide a mechanical advantage when positioning an obese patient.
Additional features and advantages of the shoulder surgery attachment will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following descriptions.